Memories of Life
by anonymous-ninja13
Summary: What happens when Ed trades his memories for Al's body? What happens when Al plays "a game" with the Truth to get Ed's memories back? Sorry about the crap summary, the story's a lot better.
1. Prologue

Memories of Life-prologue

Okay, I'll skip the crap about how this is my first story etc, etc.

WARNING CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!

When I'm rich and famous, I'll own FMA, until then…I'll write fanfiction.

Enjoy!~

Prologue-A Deal with the Truth

"Well hello, Mr. Alchemist. I'm sur-prised to see you again. " Ed turned his back to the Gate, his braided hair swinging around as he stared at the Truth.

"What do you want from me?"

"Well that depends, Mr. Alchemist, what do you want?"

Ed's golden eyes shone with desperation, tempered with a flicker of hope.

"My brother's body."

"Your brother's body, Mr. Alchemist? What a difficult choice. Your arm won't do, or your leg."

As he spoke, Ed's arm and leg disappeared, reappearing on the Truth, and back again. He stayed silent the whole time the Truth talked, with only a slight shiver as his limbs were erased and redrawn. He would go through worse to regain what his brother had lost, and his eyes never left the Truth. The Truth grinned. "I know, how about your Memory?" Ed's eyes widened in shock. Of all the things he had thought of, his arms, his leg, his life, he had never suspected his memory could be taken. But…if that's what it took…

"Alright."

The truth's grin grew, in a sinister sort of way.

"Then shall we begin?"

Eds screams of pain only made the Truth grin wider.

* * *

For some reason…torturing Ed is fun…


	2. Chapter 1

I can't believe I actually got the guts to upload this story...

I hope you like it!!!!PLEASE REVIEW

In a parallel universe, I would own FMA, and Hughes would have miraculously survived...

Chapter 1. One half of a whole.

Al stared out of the window, his armor clinking against the glass. He knew that there wasn't much of a chance of seeing brother come back, but he couldn't help but hope. When would Ed be back? He had been gone a long time now…leaving only the vaguest of notes.

_Al, I'll be back in two weeks, _

_I've found a lead to getting your body back. Don't get in trouble_

_Edward Elric_

It had been a month. The early January wind whistled forlornly around the house, blowing stray leaves around the yard. It was lonely without brother around; Al sighed, and turned to look out the window again. His eyes lit up as he eagerly watched a car arrive, and dimmed, realizing the figure was too tall and had short, black hair.

Colonel Roy Mustang stepped out of the car. The house looked sad, with a tree, emptied of leaves outside the house. The clouds cast a shadowy pall over Resembool, and Roy prayed for rain not to come. Unfortunately, his prayers went unanswered, and a downpour started as the Colonel walked up the worn path to the door. Really, what had Ed been thinking, going off alone and leaving his brother here. Should'nt he have been more sensible? Well, knowing Ed…no. "Tap, tap." The door opened quickly with a slight creak. "Hi Colonel Mustang!" Al's voice echoed off his armor strangely, but Mustang was used to it. "Hello, Al. Is your brother back yet?" Al's face fell-even though he was armor, and replied. "No…I was hopoing you would have some news of him. Has he reported back in Central recently?"

"I wish, but that pipsqueak hasn't been reporting back since November." He sat down in a chair near the window with a sigh, just as Winry poked her head out from the stairwell. "Oh! Hi Colonel! What brings you here? Is there any news about where Ed is?" At her last question, her forehead wrinkled a bit with worry. The Colonel forced out a smile, and explained,

"Actually, no, I'd come here to see if Ed had come back."

Winry plunked herself down on the sofa opposite from Mustang, and stared out the window. "If that idiot comes back with his automail all busted up, he'll have a permanent wrench dent in his forehead. Al giggled for a moment, but it only made the resulting silence louder and more awkward, the only sound being the rain. Breaking the weird silence, Mustang coughed, and leaned forward. "I think you should tell me the circumstances about when he left." Al started to explain. "It was a few months ago, after the mission you sent brother on. We came back to Resembool because he had broken his automail again. I thought we were only going to stay for a few days, but we ended up hanging around for a few weeks. I didn't mind, but I asked brother why we were staying so long. He just looked away and said he didn't have any more leads for the philosophers stone. That night, he left, but we, or me and Winry, didn't realize it until the morning."

Mustang frowned. "Did he leave anything behind?"

"Yeah, most of his clothes, and a note."

"Show it to me, please-the note, I mean."

"here."

Roy scanned the crumpled piece of paper Al had given him, and was slightly bemused. It was short, precise, and on quick scrutiny, seemed impeccable, but seemed…fake. IF he had told Al he did'nt have any leads, why did he say he had found one in the note? And, why'd he leave his clothes? Two weeks were a pretty long time to go without a new shirt, although he could transmute new ones. Still, the note didn't feel right. He put the paper down, and stood up.

"Thank you Winry."

"No problem, sir…but Colonel, do you have any idea where Ed is?"

Roy hesitated, uncertain whether to answer. He did have an idea, but…

"I'm afraid not. I'll be in Central, trying to track him down. Please contact me if he shows up."

As he turned to leave, his morbid thoughts bubbled to the top of his mind. Because all the signs pointed to the conclusion that the Fullmetal Alchemist was dead…by his own hand.

If the last sentence made no sense, sorry...I couldn't think of any other way to put it

thanks for reading! please continue to read! (passes out freshly baked Christmas cookies)

REVIEW POR FAVOR!


	3. Chapter 2

Hola People!

I don't own FMA, if I did, Ed would take his shirt off more XD

IMPORTANT::Ok, I'm using the theory from the anime, that everyone has a double on the other side of the gate. But remember, their names, jobs, and personalities will be slightly altered.

Enjoy~

Chapter 3-Empty head, empty eyes

His eyes flashed open, panting, dragged from his nightmares, of…what? All he could remember was a sense of terrifying fear, and gut wrenching pain. He didn't want to remember, it was too painful. After all, it couldn't be that important, could it? The chill of the stone bench eventually prompted him to sit up, and take a look at his surroundings. Tall stone buildings, and smog filled air surrounded him, but to his back was a forest of green. Passerbys spared a quick glance for the lost looking boy in a grey shirt, but they were busy with their own lives and simply kept walking. He stood up, shaking the sleep from his mind, and realized he had no memories of falling asleep. Come to think of it, he had no memories before falling asleep, either. His name, his address, even his face was a mystery beyond retrieval. Where was he? Who was he? Realizing he needed a mirror, he crouched down and stuck his palms to the ground, earning him more odd glances from strangers. Why did he do that? It was unconscious, a reflex, like if he put his hands to the ground, a mirror would materialize. But that was stupid, and the mirror still hadn't appeared. In the absence of a mirror, the murky shop window glass across the street would do. The boy strode across the street, dodging slow moving yellow taxicabs that honked and cursed at the oblivious boy crossing the street during a green light.

Overcast skies didn't help the visibility of his reflection, but his outline was clear. His face had been stripped of all unnecessary fat, leaving it smooth and angled, with a slightly pouting mouth. Though the glass was too cloudy to distinguish color, his eyes were light, wide, and slightly angled. His hair was light as well, and remarkably long for a boy his age, and it cascaded over his shoulders. It was an attractive face, that given a couple of years, would make girls lust for. His upper body definitely couldn't be called pudgy, as, like his face, it had been stripped of any baby fat, leaving lean muscles behind. The boy wondered briefly how he had gained the muscles, but pushed the thought away at seeing his right arm. His whole arm, and part of his upper torso, were both wrapped in creamy white bandages, unblemished by a hint of blood. His arm didn't hurt, so why was it wrapped. Reaching with his other hand to pull the bandages off, he paused. _I can't take these off._ Why? _I can't take these off._ There was no reason for the thought echoing through his head, except for faint stirrings of memory, warning him against pulling the bandages off, warning him against danger. So, he didn't unwrap the bandages, and simply let them stay put.

His identity at least partially established, the boy stood there, staring at himself for a while longer, as if searching for some sort of recognition in his reflection. Where should he go? Oblivious to the past, how could he foresee his future? _Keep walking forward. You've got two good legs, use them._ A memory of a memory, the words came to mind. Had he said those words? They didn't sound like something he'd say, but good advice nothing less. He pondered upon them for a moment. 'Keep walking forward, huh? Well, the park's a good place as any to start.' He figured there would be less people in the park, as the stares from pedestrians were starting to get on his nerves. That decided, he walked briskly across the street, pretending he knew exactly where he was headed, when, in fact, it was just the opposite.

SCENE DIVIDERS YAY!

Officer James Havoc yawned, covering his mouth with one hand, the other gripping the police cruiser's steering wheel. Yeah, so what if he was a police officer, he could drive perfectly well with one hand. But still, he glanced over at Max Hughes, to see if he was watching him. His lip tugged up in a smirk. Max had fallen asleep clutching photos of his son and daughter, Ella and Jonas. How typical of him, he had at least twenty frames of family photos on his desk. James stifled another yawn, and looked out the window at Central Park, dimly illuminated by the headlights from the police car. He hated this job. It wasn't likely that any of the hobos or juvenile delinquents would be dumb enough to sleep where the police could see them, and more importantly, he wasn't allowed to smoke inside the police cruiser, as a result of a unanimous vote back at the office. He was dying for nicotine, and contemplating opening a window to get rid of the smell, even though it was January. His resolve to carry out this plan faltered upon seeing the short teenager sprawled out on a park bench at the side of the road. "Holy Shit!" He hit the brakes suddenly, with a _SCRRRREEEECH!!!!, _which jolted Hughes into waking. "Wuzzgoinon?" (translation- What's going on?)

The loud noise startled the boy into waking, and he jumped to his feet in a fighting stance, before cringing in front of the bright lights. Havoc quickly opened the door, and apprehended the kid, who didn't put up much of a fight. Act first, ask questions later was his motto. After realizing his beloved pictures of his children weren't in danger, Max followed, yawning. Guess it was time to ask the questions.

"Ok kid, what's your name? And what were you doing out here so late?"

"I don't know my name…I was sleeping on the park bench."

"Won't your parents be worried you're out so late? What's your address?"

"I don't know…I don't know…"

The answers to the questions were pretty much the standard ones most people said, but something about this kid made Hughes believe him. His eyes were so empty; it was as if his purpose in life was gone…Still, better safe than sorry.

"Are you messing with me?"

The boy shook his head furiously, his hair a maelstrom of gold.

"No! I woke up earlier today with no memory. I'm serious!"

Havoc looked at Hughes. "He's lying."

"No…I don't think so…Let's just take him back to the station."

"Well, if you're sure. But get someone to run drug tests on him, in case you're wrong."

"Okay. Hey, kid, come on, let's go."

The boy obediently walked over to the car, and looked over at the policemen. "Could you take the handcuffs off me, please?"

"Sorry, kid. No can do. But I'll open the door for ya."

Door opened, he stepped into the back seat of the car, and blinked sleepily. It was so warm in there…the boy fell asleep just as the two policemen got in, this time with Max driving. Stoplights and neon signs threw strange shadows as the drove slowly through the streets of NYC.

"You know…I think this one might actually be telling the truth. He seemed so…lost."

"Yeah. Wonder what he was doing, wearing a t-shirt in the middle of winter, and did you notice his arm?"

"No, why?"

"His right arm was completely wrapped in bandages, but it didn't seem to be sprained or broken."

Havoc glanced back at the softly snoring kid.

"Hey, I know who our 'John Doe' looks like know."

"Who?"

"Ok. Imagine him with short hair, and a little taller, oh, and blue eyes."

"Whoa, you mean…?"

(softly) "Yeah…"

"Well, I wonder what Roy's gonna say to this…Maybe we shouldn't tell him."

Ed is a little out of it right now, but remember, he just lost his memory. He'll get more Ed-like soon. :)

You probably guessed that the bandages hide his automail. And yes, Hughes has a son in this world, I don't really know why.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! Hope you liked the chapter! (hands out candy canes)

More reviews=faster updates

So review please!


	4. Chapter 3

Hey everyone! Izze here!

Yes of course I own FMA, why else would I be writing this?

You know, I read my story on fanfiction, and it made me cringe….it was so…so….I can't even describe. Somehow the more time I spend on this fanfic, the more I'm convinced I need to rewrite it…(sits in corner under "emo cloud")

Oh, and if any details are wrong about anything, please forgive me, because something called laziness prevents me from looking up the real information. Yes I am a lazy procrastinator. Deal with it.

Sorry for not specifying earlier, this is AU our world, specifically New York, because it's easier to write.

Enjoy the chapter and please review!

Chapter 4-Murder is annoying, doppelgangers are weirder

Roy Mercedes (my friend suggested this, I couldn't resist… Mustang…Mercedes…do you get it?) sighed and ran his hand through his hair. His paperwork…should go die in a hole. Why the hell was he stuck here at the office, at 10:30 at night, doing FRICKIN PAPERWORK?! This was living proof that life certainly wasn't fair, but why couldn't it ever be fair in his favor? Glancing over at the single photograph on the wall, he smiled slightly. '_Yeah, I know what you'd say to that.' _A golden haired, azure eyed teen smiled back at him, carefree and happy. Carefree and happy. Not a very accurate description of the boy, this was probably the only picture of him smiling. He had always been so…sad? Determined? Stubborn? All of these words pretty much described the kid. He (Roy) had met the kid when he was five maybe? The boy and his little brother had been caught stealing from a convenience store, and had been brought to the police station. There, the store clerk and Roy found out that the brothers had no idea of what stealing was, and hadn't had anything to eat for the past day and a half. It helped that the littler brother was a cute little innocent looking chibi, with wide eyes and adorable smile. The older one was also cute in the way a growling kitten is cute; he thinks he's fierce, but he's just a little chibi (Ed: WHO ARE YOU CALLING LITTLE!!!?). After some food, hot chocolate, and some sniffling, the two boys finally explained what had happened, in the way only little kids can-disjointedly and incoherently. Their mom died a few months ago, they didn't know who their dad was, and they had been on the streets for a few months. Honestly, Roy had been seriously surprised that they lasted that long, after all it was New York, but those kids seriously were something. A year or two later, Roy and his wife adopted them, and the boys officially became Ed H. Mercedes and Al H. Mercedes. A happy ending. Lovely. Funny thing about happy endings? In real life, things don't work out that way. Seven years ago, (note: I think Ed's about 16, either way, I'm bending reality to make him 16. So there!) Al was 8, and Ed had just turned 9. Al and his adopted mom had gone on a quick errand to buy some milk, Ed would have come, but he was with Roy at home playing a game or something. But the quick 15 minute errand turned into an hour. Then two hours. Finally, after three anxious hours, some searching, and a phone call, Roy and Ed headed down to the station, where they found out that mom and Al…were dead. It was the second time Edward had seen his mother die. The worst part? No one knew how they had been killed, or who did it.

After the "incident" everything changed. It was hard to describe, but Roy felt Ed blamed their deaths on himself, that maybe if he had gone with them, something would've been different. He blamed Roy, too, for not trying harder to discover the murderer's identity. He lost all faith in the world, and Roy really couldn't blame him. Sometimes even he felt that way, after all that happened. And of course, adding insult to injury, Ed was killed in a freak car accident, on the day of his 16th birthday. Roy had only made it in time to watch his son die slowly, in the middle of the road, a sad smile on his face. Life hadn't been kind to Edward, and the boy accepted that. But his father couldn't.

Shit. He needed a drink; all these memories were making him depressed. In the absence of any liquor in the police station, some coffee would do for time being. He stood up out of his swivel chair in front of his paper-covered wooden desk, and walked out of his office. God, he was tired. He blinked sleepily as he turned on the ancient coffee machine, as it hummed and buzzed to life. He reminded himself for the hundredth to buy another coffee machine to replace it, as he stood there waiting for it to finish making the coffee. Eventually it was done, and he grabbed a waiting mug and poured the steaming brown liquid into the cup, but paused mid-sip. He thought he heard something..? Listening for another moment, he snorted, as the distinct sounds of Officers Havoc and Hughes arguing echoed into the room. He frowned. Weren't they supposed to be on night patrol duty in the cruiser? Gripping the mug in one hand, he strode down the hallway to find out what was going on.

A fairly short boy was sitting in a chair, but his back was to Roy, and he dismissed him as no one important, and turned to watch Max and James bicker-albeit in hushed voices-not noticing the dark eyed man sipping coffee with a smirk on his face. He drank with a particularly loud slurp, to get their attention, and the short boy's golden hair whipped around, and he stared in alarm at Roy.

_Crack_

The coffee cup fell from Roy's hand and shattered on the ground, his eyes staring at the boy's face in disbelief. The same face as that of his dead son's.

SCENE DIVIDER WOO!!!

Hope you liked the first half of this chapter!

Sorry it's kind of short, but I have writers block…so be glad I actually got this out.

I tried to make AlterEd's past sort of like real Ed's,

And I thought AlterRoy being his dad would be an interesting plot twist :)

You know, AlterRoy really should be more traumatized, but for the purposes of my story, he won't be.

Look, it's almost midnight, my brain ran away, and I've been driven insane by uber-younger than me cousins, so please ignore any editing errors, as I have neither the time nor patience to go over this chapter. Sorry.

Review? I need at least hmmm…four or five to update the next chapter.

More reviews=faster updates

Luv ya,

Izze


	5. AUTHOR'S NOTE

i can't update for 2 weeks....long story why....so..I'M SORRY!!!

Just telling you, because i think you guys ought to know.

I'll have two or three chapters out when I do update, though.

Izze


	6. Chapter 4 continued

Have any of you gone to the bookstore, and then couldn't find the book you were looking for, so you sat in the anime/manga section for an half an hour reading Fullmetal Alchemist? And then you leave without buying anything? No, none of you? Hmmm…must be just me then.

Well, anyway, I did that earlier today, and was inspired to write the next chapter.

So, I guess you should be glad I couldn't find my book.

Disclaimer: Insert disclaimer here. I don't feel like writing one. (Ed: You're so lazy. Me: I know.)

IMPORTANT: look, I know you guys probably have better things to do, but PLEASE REVIEW! It's the only way I know that people actually appreciate the fact I'm writing this, and actually care about the story (I probably would've scrapped it by now if you didn't, actually…). And it's the only way I can find out what you guys like/dislike, so I can improve this piece of (censored). So please review!!

Chapter 4- continued

Ed's POV, a while earlier

How can you tell who's a friend or an enemy, if you've just met them? The two guys who woke me up seemed decent, but they wanted me to come with them. Where were they taking me? Before I could decide what I would do, the one with blond hair and an unlit cigarette snapped a pair of metal handcuffs on me. _Click_.

_Why did I let him do that? _

_**Because you trust him.**_

_Why do I trust him?_

_**Because he's familiar.**_

_Why is he familiar?_

_**I don't know.**_

Somehow, I knew I could've gotten away, snapped off the handcuffs, or ran. But then I'd be even more lost, even colder, and still wearing a t-shirt in January. As these thoughts ran through my head, the two guys continued to talk like I wasn't even there. I really didn't pay attention, though, because I was trying remember where I had seen them. Eventually, they stopped (maybe they noticed I was staring at them oddly?) and they told me to get in the car. I did, willingly. After all, no one likes the cold, and my right shoulder really hurt. Maybe it was frostbite? But then why did the rest of my arm feel fine? Ow….*yawn*.I succumb to sleep, in the back seat of the car, still wondering why I agreed.

We pulled up in front of a building, with a sign that said NYC PD in giant capital letters. Apparently these people are very dedicated in making sure everyone knows they are NYC PD. And what the hell did NYC PD mean in the first place? (this sounds very OOC…more like me than Ed.) I stepped out of the car. The ride here had been uneventful, though I could swear I heard something along the lines of _short_…or the word _taller._ I felt an irrational urge to start swearing at whoever called me short…but why? After all, I was kind of…I couldn't even say it. Why? Did it matter? In the midst of trying to find out who I was, the door opened and cold air rushed in. Shivering, I got out, and was released from my handcuffs by one of the guys, I think his name was Hughes. Rubbing my wrists, I walked into the building, trying to preserve whatever dignity I had left. Which really wasn't much.

It was a pretty normal looking place, slightly deflated looking chairs, a desk, and a table with some remarkably outdated magazines sitting on top. I sat down in a chair, the cushions blowing out a little cloud of dust. Leaning my head back against the back of the cahir, I close my eyes and listen. Hughes and…Havoc? Are arguing about whether they should show me to some guy named…Roy? Why do all these names sound like I've heard them before? Footsteps echo from an unseen corridor, but only I hear them. Tap..tap…they stop, suddenly, and I instinctively whip my head around to stare at the new individual. _Crash_. The cup he's holding falls to the ground, and the arguing stops. Strange…I remember him vaguely, not very well. There's something I'm supposed to say to him…what was it? Oh yeah, I remember now.

"Bastard."

Poor Alter!Roy…He gets called a bastard. I think Ed actually has too many questions, but he _is_ a scientist…and he's curious about what happened.

AAAAAGH I hate writing Ed's POV, and if it's a memoryless Ed, it's just that much harder. So, excuse me my ranting, because this was REALLY hard to write.

And, sorry this is so frickin short…but I lost inspiration halfway through, don't worry, next chapter will be longer next week!

R&R please?


	7. rewrite pending

Right-first of all…

I realized that my writing here kinda sucks.

Therefore, this will be rewritten, within the next six-ish months.

I apologize for leaving this unfinished.


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